Building Blocks of Life Essay Example for Free

Building Blocks of Life Essay Part 1: Mitosis and Meiosis Short-Answer Response Use Ch. 5 of BioInquiry and the â€Å"Comparing Mitosis and Meiosis† video as resources for Part 1 of this assignment. Write 75- to 100-word answers to the following questions. Why are the process of mitosis and meiosis both important to a living organism? Both mitosis and meiosis processes are extremely important because they are the division of chromosomes and without this division reproduction would not occur. Cell division plays an important role in the life cycle of a cell allowing the cell to grow, develop and then reproduce. If these processes did not occur then the cells would eventually die out and without the ability to be replaced by new cells then the host would die as well. When would an organism need to undergo the process of mitosis? Meiosis? An organism would need to undergo the process of mitosis in order to repair damaged cells or to start a new cell life cycle through cellular division. All cells need to be replaced on the regular basic within a living organism the cells divide and create new cells. An organism would need to undergo the process of meiosis when it needs to produce cells that are designated for sexual reproduction, such as egg or sperm cells within humans What would happen if meiosis did not occur? If meiosis did not occur then haploid cells would not be made resulting in the cell being unable to reproduce. Meiosis I reduces the number of chromosomes by half so that when fertilization occurs the number of  chromosomes would be reestablished. During meiosis II the daughter cell is a unique variation of its parent cell while still only having one pair of chromosomes. Part 2: Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration Matrix Complete the matrix. Use the following questions to aid in completion: What is the purpose of this pathway? Reactants: What does this reaction need to proceed? Products: What is produced because of the reaction? The role of ATP: Does it supply energy or store energy? Cellular respiration Photosynthesis Pathway Glycolysis Krebs cycle Electron transport Light-dependent reaction Light-independent reaction Purpose Energy Harvesting or Sugar-Splitting breakdown of glucose to single carbon molecules Converts oxygen to water Provide energy for the light-independent reaction Produces food for cellular respiration Where it takes place Cell cytoplasm Mitochondria Mitochondria Chloroplasts Chloroplasts Reactants ATP, NADH, Pyruvates,CO2,Coenzyme A,PGAL Acetyl Co-A, oxaloacetate, Citrate, Alpha ketoglutarate NADH, FADH2 Sunlight, chlorophyll, and water ATP, carbon dioxide, and NADPH Products H20, NADH, ATP Carbon dioxide and ATP 36 ATP Oxygen and ATP Carbohydrates (sugar and starch) The role of ATP Energy used to breakdown Pyruvic acid into Acetyl Co-enzyme A for the Krebs Cycle Energy to drive the electron transport High production of ATP produces energy for overall cell growth and repair Transports solar energy in the form of ATP to power other chemical reactions Fuels the formation of carbohydrates